Monday – 07 February 2011
It’s Monday.
And the NFL 2010-2011 championship title has returned to Titletown.  But, more on that in a minute.

It was a good weekend. There was a fair bit crammed into the three days. Highlights include:

  1. A trip to Ogden to visit Wonderful World of Trains, The Bookshelf, as well as Almosta Junction on Friday, with .
  2. A trip to Jitterbug Coffee Hop for the first time in a very long while.
  3. A good HeroClix tournament on Saturday.
  4. The Super Bowl yesterday.

Sure, there were other things that happened over the weekend, but those were the big ticket items.

And, tonight, SaraRules! and I are celebrating an early Valentine’s Day by going out to dinner (none of those Feb. 14th dinner crowds for us!) and going to Kingsbury Hall to hear Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra perform.

Chew on This: Food for Thought – Black History Month
Today’s person of note: Althea Gibson

Althea Gibson was a World No. 1 American sportswoman who became the first African-American woman to be a competitor on the world tennis tour and the first to win a Grand Slam title in 1956. She is sometimes referred to as “the Jackie Robinson of tennis” for breaking the color barrier.

Gibson continued to improve her tennis game while pursuing an education. In 1946 she moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, to work on her tennis game with Dr. Hubert A. Eaton and enrolled at Williston High School.

In 1958, Gibson retired from amateur tennis. Before the open era began, there was no prize money, other than an expense allowance, and no endorsement deals. To begin earning prize money, tennis players had to give up their amateur status. As there was no professional tour for women, Gibson was limited to playing in a series of exhibition tours.

According to Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Gibson was ranked in the world top ten from 1956 through 1958, reaching a career high of No. 1 in those rankings in 1957 and 1958. Gibson was included in the year-end top ten rankings issued by the United States Tennis Association in 1952 and 1953 and from 1955 through 1958. She was the top-ranked U.S. player in 1957 and 1958.

In 1971, Gibson was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and in 1975, she was appointed the New Jersey state commissioner of athletics. After 10 years on the job, she went on to work in other public service positions, including serving on the governor’s council on physical fitness.

On September 28, 2003, at the age of 76, Gibson died in East Orange, New Jersey due to circulatory failure and was interred there in the Rosedale Cemetery.

On the opening night of the 2007 US Open, the 50th anniversary of Gibson’s victory at the US Championships in 1957 (now the US Open), Gibson was inducted into US Open Court of Champions.

Instant Replay: Football
Yesterday, Super Bowl XLV was played in The Temple of Jones Cowboy Stadium…

Pittsburgh Steelers at Green Bay Packers
25 – 31
The Steelers and the Packers, teams from a couple of blue-collar towns, battled for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

The Packers took advantage of key Pittsburgh turnovers in the first half, establishing a 21 – 10 lead by halftime.
The Steelers returned to form in the second half, scoring 22 points and coming within two minutes of potentially winning the game, but couldn’t pull all of the pieces together to make it work.

Congratulations to the Packers on their win.

Stray Toasters

That’s good for now.

Namaste.